Field of the Invention
The embodiments described herein are generally directed to authentication and/or authorization, and, more particularly, to authentication and/or authorization of mobile devices' for usage of access points in an alternative network.
Description of the Related Art
Continuing to serve mobile devices and devices belonging to the so called Internet of Things (IoT) requires increasingly specialized network resources and continually increasing capacity. The practical reality is that the various network resources belong to one set of companies, while another set of companies use and enhance those resources with other service elements to provide a complete end-user service to consumers and devices connected to a network (e.g., the Internet). This situation is described in various documents, which describe needs and requirements for the next generation mobile networks, and which are sometimes called the 5G network standard.
One early network resource type that is available to mobile devices, for use as a radio access technology and an alternative and complement to cellular data networks, is Wi-Fi™. The utilization of Wi-Fi™ capacity with connections to the Internet is capable of providing a significant portion of available wireless connectivity for mobile devices that would otherwise rely on cellular connections provided by mobile network operators. This resource can be extended outside device users' homes and work environments by automating connections to third-party Wi-Fi™ and providing an opportunity for mobile network operators to automatically purchase Wi-Fi™ access when and where it is needed, based on policies, prices, and access conditions defined by the sellers of the Wi-Fi access and the device users, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/684,048 (filed Nov. 21, 2012, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,084,179 on Jul. 14, 2015) and Ser. No. 14/225,310 (filed Mar. 25, 2014, and published as U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2014/0293829 on Oct. 2, 2014), which are both hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entireties.
Conventional solutions rely on a network selection mechanism that involves determining the access network to be used based on various conditions. Typically, this determination and the routing of data traffic are performed by an application executing on the mobile device. However, it is not always practical to have this determination implemented in the mobile device.